Lightweight, strong and beautiful on a boat, Bill Swift from Swift Canoe & Kayak introduced the Paddling Mag team to forged carbon as a hull material at Canoecopia 2024.
First Look: Forged Carbon
Forged carbon, paired with epoxy resin designed specifically for marine use, is extremely strong. Swift demonstrated just how strong by taking a hammer to a thin sheet of forged carbon against rock to reveal virtually no wear and tear.
Differing from classic carbon fiber layups, forged carbon is made with shards of carbon made into a paste and arranged randomly. Rather than appear like a woven fabric as classic carbon fiber does, forged carbon appears flecked as each shard of carbon catches the light differently.
Another clear benefit beyond strength and lightweight forged carbon is its sleek look. Swift showed the team a custom-ordered forged carbon canoe with a blue and red tint built on the interactive boat builder on Swift Canoe & Kayak’s website.
“We do a lot of our boats now with all carbon interior. Even the seats were faint with a clear forged carbon,” he said.
Swift also shared the Saranac 15 kayak with forged carbon on the deck in purple and on the hull and black.
“What’s neat about them is on a day when it’s cloudy they have a little bit of a flat look to them. As soon as the sun hits them they’ve got this really cool pop to them,” Swift said.
See more from Canoecopia 2024:
- P&H Unveils Composite Version Of Best-Selling Touring Kayak
- An Ingenious Method For Sizing Canoe Paddles (Video)
- New Nova Craft Canoe Prospector 14 Walk-Through (Video)
- First Look: Esquif Huron 17 (Video)
- First Look: Aqua Bound’s New Aerial Paddles (Video)
- Astral Unveils High-Float Indus Line Of PFDs (Video)
